The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

Julian Assange, founder of the online leaking platform WikiLeaks, is seen on a screen as he addresses journalists via a live video connection during a press conference on the platform's 10th anniversary on October 4, 2016 in Berlin. (Photo credit:STEFFI LOOS/AFP/Getty Images)

Is Julian Assange's five-year stay at the Ecuadorian embassy in London about to come to an abrupt end? Wikileaks claimed its leader had his internet access cut by Ecuador on Saturday 5pm GMT, shortly after it released more of Hillary Clinton's private paid speeches to Goldman Sachs.

Wikileaks made the claim over Twitter this afternoon. Earlier in the day, it had noted that an unnamed "state party" had "intentionally severed" Assange's internet connection.

A spokesperson at the Ecuadorian embassy told FORBES it could not comment. They requested your reporter call again at 10am London time. When I asked if there was a special event happening then, they declined to comment.

The news came as bizarre rumors swirled around Wikileaks, which has been celebrating its 10th birthday by releasing files from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. The most insane suggestion was that Pamela Anderson had poisoned Assange after delivering him a Pret lunch at the embassy. That, unsurprisingly, turned out to be nonsense.

But rumors of Assange's death persisted, thanks to 64-character codes tweeted by Wikileaks, though the tweets were not sent at the flick of a dead man's switch. They were cryptographic assurances of leaked data, so-called "pre-commitments" designed to ensure files hadn't been tampered with.

If Ecuador has cut Assange's web connection, it's unclear what, if anything, was upsetting to the South American country about the Clinton speeches. One of the pre-committments did, however, carry the tag "Ecuador"...

UPDATE The Ecuadorian ministry of foreign affairs confirmed Assange is not being asked to leave the embassy. "Contrary to recent press speculation, the Government of Ecuador reaffirms its 2012 decision to grant political asylum to Julian Assange. The protection of the Ecuadorian State will continue as long as the circumstances that led to the granting of that asylum remain," the department said, tweeting the message late last night.

In a later statement in Spanish, the Ecuadorian government said it had turned off Assange's internet as it was concerned about him interfering with the U.S. election. "The Government of Ecuador respects the principle of non-intervention in the affairs of other countries, it does not interfere in electoral processes in progress or support a particular candidate.

"In that sense, Ecuador, in exercise of its sovereign right, has temporarily restricted access to part of its communications system in its embassy in the UK.

"This temporary restriction does not prevent the WikiLeaks organization from carrying out its journalistic activities."